Alfred Club, Because Automatic Is Better Than On-Demand

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It’s no surprise that the on-demand space will continue to grow, but that doesn’t mean that on-demand services are saving us entirely from the stresses of tedious chores. That’s where Alfred Club comes in.

Alfred, which launched today at Disrupt SF, goes beyond simple on-demand services and provides a layer of automation on top of a number of services. For example, users can buy groceries from Instacart or Blue Apron, have their laundry done by Washio and have a TaskRabbit run a few errands, with a single person (an Alfred) delivering those necessities in an automated experience.

Here’s how it works:

When you first sign up for the service, you’ll be assigned an Alfred. You’ll see this person’s picture and some general information, as well as verification for a host of background checks to ensure this is a safe, reliable worker. Once you’re done, you’ll choose a specific day for this person to deliver your goods each week and compile a grocery list.

After that, the app works on its own in the background. In fact, you shouldn’t even have to open the app again after you’ve signed up unless you need to make adjustments to your weekly grocery list.

From there, Alfred will head over weekly to drop off your clean laundry (and put it in the closet), drop off your household supplies (and put the paper towel roll on the paper towel holder) and hook you up with your weekly groceries (by putting them in the pantry or closet), and ensure the house is spotless. The idea is not only to cut into the 30 average hours/week that people spend on household chores, but to relieve some of the mental strain of dealing with multiple apps and services, and coordinating them together.

Obviously, the logistics behind this are difficult, but Alfred has forged partnerships with their service partners to bundle together Alfred users in a single area. This removes the possibility for cancelled Homejoy appointments or difficult coordination experiences. That way, an Alfred can service a specific community and pick up all of their users’ laundry, groceries, etc. in a single trip.

The company is operating in Boston right now, with plans to expand to other urban areas (likely NYC) soon. During the beta period in Boston, the company has grown to have access to over 5,000 residential units, with a 90 percent retention rate from the original group of beta testers.

In terms of scalability, the team is creating partnerships with landlords and building owners who can bake int he cost of Alfred to the cost of rent, offering it as an added feature in their residences. On the B2C side, Alfred waits for enough sign-ups in a given area before it activates that neighborhood.

Meanwhile, service partners like Washio and Instacart are incentivized by the new, always recurring customers.

For each customer, Alfred costs $25/week or $99/month.

We’ve seen a number of businesses sprout up under the ideology that traditional luxury items and services should be made available to the mainstream, not least of which being Uber.

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Crunchbase

OverviewHello Alfred is a tech and hospitality platform focused on evolving the most important space in people’s lives: the home.
The platform combines building management software with highly trained “Alfred” Home Managers to handle an extensive suite of services, allowing residents to focus on the things that matter most. Buildings get a differentiated experience in competitive urban environments; …